GPS speedometers.

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About two weeks ago the speedometer in my car gave up the ghost. All other gauges still work fine. I got under the car,pulled the speed sensor,all looked fine. I decided to take it into Nissan since I know them over there,and have them check it out. They ran diagnostics on everything,all was good. Verdict,the gauge is bad. The part is no longer available from Nissan,of course. I know a guy from one of the Z clubs that will give me one,BUT,the entire cluster has to be completely taken apart,and all of the Z guys say it can be a gamble dismantling a 20+ year old gauge cluster. There's a place in Austin called Z Clinic that won't even do it because it's such an intricate operation on such old components and that alot of stuff can get broken in the process. If I had a second car (like I'm shopping for) I could take it all apart and repair in in my leisure so I can take my time without having my only car all dismantled.

I downloaded a GPS speedometer app on my iPhone that works great! But of course I'd rather have something other than my phone to use as a speedometer. Are there any GPS speedometers that are recommended? I see there are a ton available online but I know nothing about them.
 
I'd just use a Garmin GPS or similar

You should have a speedometer repair shop that can repair it for you that's willing to do so.
 
Good gps units can be had for around $100. Used at a pawn shop very cheap. I am looking at another 7 inch screen as the old one is giving my grief.
 
You could kind of estimate your speed based on the RPM and gear you are in, no?

I have a Scan Gauge II that I can get a speed readout directly from my OBD2 port.
 
Originally Posted By: silverrat
You could kind of estimate your speed based on the RPM and gear you are in, no?


Oh yeah,I pretty much have it memorized,but I'm always afraid there will be that ONE time haha
 
If you can live with a weakly-lit screen, a used Garmin GPS III Plus Handheld will do, though it will be a lot slower to acquire than the iPhone.
The things were built well, and have a rubberized bottom so good for staying in place while cornering.
They use 4 AA batteries.
 
I'm going to get one of those cheap HUD GPS speedos - I got a ticket in my Volvo for doing 117kph (100kph limit) when my speedo was on 102kph. I've since checked it with GPS and it's 100% accurate at 100kph. It will cost more than the fine to fight, so will have another speedo to double check. I was using cruise control downhill, maybe something happened there....another gauge will confirm.
 
Originally Posted By: Silk
I'm going to get one of those cheap HUD GPS speedos - I got a ticket in my Volvo for doing 117kph (100kph limit) when my speedo was on 102kph. I've since checked it with GPS and it's 100% accurate at 100kph. It will cost more than the fine to fight, so will have another speedo to double check. I was using cruise control downhill, maybe something happened there....another gauge will confirm.


Maybe a really stupid question but how exactly are they set up? I'm guessing you just plug it into your cigarette lighter plug,turn it on,and go? They're really cheap on eBay.

https://www.ebay.com/p/?iid=222227363796&lpid=82&&&ul_noapp=true&chn=ps
 
Those are the ones, powered by the cig lighter. Pity, because I want to check my scooter too, it's way out....I don't need to get a ticket for speeding on a scooter that isn't supposed to be able to exceed the speed limit.
 
Just buy a refurbished Android smartphone w/ GPS for $20 then load the app on it. You can also install offline google maps, a dashcam app, etc. It's more versatile than a GPS unit
 
Do you have an Android phone? Get a Bluetooth OBD-II adapter and download Torque Pro for $5.

I did this and use my old, decommissioned Galaxy S-III as an in-car computer, mounted via magnetic vent mount, every day during my daily 110-mile round-trip commute to work.



It is great for tracking tons of useful stuff, including instant Miles-per-Gallon, Avg. MPG, Coolant temp, MAF volume, fuel trims.. and does both ECU-registered speed and GPS speed. What's additionally nice is that you can make adjustments in the program to calibrate the GPS-read vs. ECU-registered.

I started using it in my last daily driver, which didn't have a built-in MPG readout on the dash, but it's only become more useful over time.
 
I just went out and took two more pics so you can see more of what the app can do.

The first is one I set up when I first started noticing misfires in my engine, prior to getting the head worked on. I keep it as-is because I think it's useful to know how how my cat is getting, what my engine's vacuum looks like, and because I suspect my EGR might be going:


The second one I just made up to show you what might be a good "everyday" kind of screen. I forgot to add the "Distance to empty" display, but you can see it in pic#1.
 
Interestingly enough, the Torque Pro app has a "HUD mode" that does exactly the same thing. Displays everything backwards, so you can put it on your dash and get a windshield display. I've never used it, but I hear it's neat.
 
Originally Posted By: SirTanon
I just went out and took two more pics so you can see more of what the app can do.

The first is one I set up when I first started noticing misfires in my engine, prior to getting the head worked on. I keep it as-is because I think it's useful to know how how my cat is getting, what my engine's vacuum looks like, and because I suspect my EGR might be going:


The second one I just made up to show you what might be a good "everyday" kind of screen. I forgot to add the "Distance to empty" display, but you can see it in pic#1.



That's sweet!! My phone is an iPhone 6,I wonder if a similar app is available? I'll have to look.
 
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